Manchester City's Belgian defender Vincent Kompany (L) celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on May 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Paul ELLIS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Pep Guardiola is so angry that Vincent Kompany has returned from international duty injured again that he is privately questioning the Manchester City captain’s future, according to Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror.

After taking a knock in Belgium’s thrashing of Gibraltar, Kompany then felt a tightness in his calf in the days leading up to Belgium’s win over Greece. This ruled him out of City’s big match against Liverpool on Saturday, although in the end his absence wasn’t felt as the Blues trounced Jurgen Klopp’s side 5-0 at the Etihad.

However, after making a new centre-back a low priority in the recent transfer window and showing faith in Kompany, Guardiola is now said to be ‘infuriated’ that the iconic club captain failed to heed the warnings after suffering a knock to his knee against Gibraltar, leading to his newest absence.

Kompany has looked back to his best in City but this injury brings back the familiar issue of the club’s finest centre-back missing important games. During both the Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini eras, there were issues with Kompany putting himself at risk on international duty and subsequently missing key fixtures for his club.

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And if his problems persist this season, Guardiola may have no choice but to invest in a new defensive leader, with Tottenham star Toby Alderweireld rumoured to be on City’s radar as his contract issues with Spurs continue. In the short-term, Pep may consider a renewed attempt to sign West Brom skipper Jonny Evans in the New Year, after a transfer collapsed when Eliaquim Mangala rejected a move to Crystal Palace.